Turkey attacks Kurds after Isis assault

Turkey attacks Kurds after Isis assault

The Turkish air force launched strikes against Syria in the past week, but it has also resumed bombing Kurdish groups.

The government joined in with international cries of outrage last
week at the suicide attack on Suruc in eastern Turkey, presumed to be by
Isis, which killed 32 people.

The PKK leads the Kurdish nationalist movement in Turkey.

It accuses Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkish government of working with Isis to defeat Kurdish separatists.

In the east Turkey borders Syria, Iraq and Iran—all of which have significant Kurdish populations.

Until last week the Turkish military had taken no part in fighting against Isis.

The same day it began a crackdown on “terrorists”.

This led to mass arrests of people suspected of links to both Isis and the PKK.

It followed this with two nights of airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq.

So far it has refrained from bombing the PKK-related PYD. It is the
main force on the ground in

Syria, which is fighting Isis forces with US
air support.Danger

Turkish socialist Ron Margulies told Socialist Worker, “The real
danger here is that the Turkish government’s actions drag Turkey and the
Kurds into a new war.

“First, it is risking getting completely involved in the war in Syria.

“Second, for two years there has been effective peace with the PKK and it is sabotaging the peace process.”

So far the PKK has not said how it will respond to the attacks.

The Turkish government has always seen the Kurdish movement as a greater threat than Isis.

For a long time it has done little to stop recruits to Isis crossing the long border with Syria.

The PKK claims that the Turkish government is directly colluding with Isis to destroy the Kurdish
movement.

Turkey announced that the US and Britain can use aircraft based at
Incirlik airbase in eastern Turkey for airstrikes against targets in
Syria.Linked

The US still classifies the PKK a terrorist organisation, while it is
in practice working with the linked PYD against Isis in Syria.

Erdogan’s foreign policy is totally isolated in Nato.

It looks like his call for a meeting with Nato on Tuesday of this week may be an attempt to break that.

Erdogan spoke to US president Barack Obama last week, before the Turkish change of line.
Ron said, “I suspect that Turkey has come to an agreement with the US
by which in return for Turkey supporting the US in its fight against
Isis, the US turns a blind eye to attacks on the Kurds.”
US spokesperson Brett McGurk was quick to deny this.

He said, “There is no connection between these air strikes against
PKK and recent understandings to intensify US/Turkey cooperation against
Isis”.

About Me

We do not open attachments. Stop e-mailing them. Threats and abusive e-mail are not covered by any privacy rule. This isn't to the reporters at a certain paper (keep 'em coming, they are funny). This is for the likes of failed comics who think they can threaten via e-mails and then whine, "E-mails are supposed to be private." E-mail threats will be turned over to the FBI and they will be noted here with the names and anything I feel like quoting.
This also applies to anyone writing to complain about a friend of mine. That's not why the public account exists.